Genesis 26 ISV NLT Parallel

◄ Genesis 26 ►

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1Later on, a famine swept through the land. This famine was different from the previous famine that had occurred earlier, during Abraham's lifetime. So Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

1A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.

2That's when the LORD appeared to Isaac. "You are not to go down to Egypt," he said. "Instead, you are to settle down in an area within this land where I'll tell you.

2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.

3Remain in this land, and I'll be with and bless you by giving all these lands to you and to your descendants in fulfillment of my solemn promise that I made to your father Abraham.

3Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.

4I'll cause you to have as many descendants as the stars of the heavens, and I'll certainly give all these lands to your descendants. Later on, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless one another.

4I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

5I'm going to do this because Abraham did what I told him to do. He kept my instructions, commands, statutes, and laws."

5I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”

6So Isaac lived in Gerar.

6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

7Later on, the men of that place asked about his wife, so he replied, "She's my sister," because he was afraid to call her "my wife." He kept thinking, "…otherwise, the men around here will kill me on account of Rebekah, since she's very beautiful."

7When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.”

8After he had been there awhile, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out through a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

8But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah.

9So Abimelech called Isaac and confronted him. "She is definitely your wife!" he accused him, "So why did you claim, 'She's my sister?'" Isaac responded, "Because I had thought '…otherwise, I'll die on account of her.'"

9Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied.

10"What have you done to us?" Abimelech asked. "Any minute now, one of the people could have had sex with your wife and you would have caused all of us to be guilty."

10“How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”

11So he issued this order to everyone: "Whoever touches this man or his wife is to be executed."

11Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!” Conflict over Water Rights

12Isaac received a 100-fold return on what he planted that year in the land he received, because the LORD blessed him.

12When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him.

13He became very wealthy and lived a life of wealth, becoming more and more wealthy.

13He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.

14He owned so many sheep, cattle, and servants that the Philistines eventually became envious of him.

14He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

15They filled in with sand all of the wells that Isaac's father Abraham's servants had dug during his lifetime.

15So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.

16Then Abimelech ordered Isaac, "Move away from us! You've become more powerful than we are."

16Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.”

17So Isaac moved from there and encamped in the Gerar Valley, where he settled.

17So Isaac moved away to the Gerar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down.

18Isaac re-excavated some wells that his father had first dug during his lifetime, because the Philistines had filled them with sand after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed those wells with the same names that his father had called them.

18He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them.

19While Isaac's servants were digging in the valley, they discovered a well with flowing water.

19Isaac’s servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water.

20But the herdsmen who lived in Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen. "The water is ours," they said. As a result, Isaac named the well Esek, for they had fiercely disputed with him about it.

20But then the shepherds from Gerar came and claimed the spring. “This is our water,” they said, and they argued over it with Isaac’s herdsmen. So Isaac named the well Esek (which means “argument”).

21When his workers started digging another well, those herdsmen quarreled about that one, too, so Isaac named it Sitnah.

21Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Isaac named it Sitnah (which means “hostility”).

22Then he left that area and dug still another well. Because they did not quarrel over that one, Isaac named it Rehoboth, because he used to say, "The LORD has enlarged the territory for us. We will prosper in the land."

22Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it, so Isaac named the place Rehoboth (which means “open space”), for he said, “At last the LORD has created enough space for us to prosper in this land.”

23Later on, he left there and went to Beer-sheba,

23From there Isaac moved to Beersheba,

24where one night the LORD appeared to him. "I am the God of your father Abraham," he told him. "Don't be afraid, because I'm with you. I'm going to bless you and multiply your descendants on account of my servant Abraham."

24where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.”

25In response, Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. He also pitched his tents there and his servants dug a well.

25Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well. Isaac’s Covenant with Abimelech

26Later, Abimelech traveled from Gerar to visit Isaac . He arrived with Ahuzzath, his staff advisor, and Phicol, the commanding officer of his army.

26One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander.

27"Why have you come to see me," Isaac asked them, "since you hate me so much that you sent me away from you?"

27“Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”

28"We've seen that the LORD is with you," they responded, "so we're proposing an agreement between us—between us and you. Allow us to make a treaty with you

28They replied, “We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant.

29by which you'll agree not to do us any harm, just as we haven't harmed you, since we've done nothing but good for you after we sent you away in peace. As a result, you've been tremendously blessed by the LORD."

29Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!”

30So Isaac held a festival for them, and they ate and drank.

30So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together.

31They woke up early the next morning and made the treaty. After this, Isaac sent them off and they left on peaceful terms.

31Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace.

32That very same day, Isaac's servants arrived and reported to him about a well that they had just completed digging. "We've found water!" they said.

32That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed.

33So Isaac named the well Shebah, which is why the city is named Beer-sheba to this day.

33So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”).

34When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

34At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon.

35This brought extreme grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

35But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.

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